Dubai Airshow: India marketing supersonic cruise missile BrahMos

India seems to be aggressively marketing its supersonic cruise missile BrahMos at the Dubai Airshow and is in talks with countries in the Middle East region.

In the sprawl of pavilions boasting of cutting edge aviation and defence technology at the Dubai Airshow, a stall with scale models of Sukhoi Su-30 MKI planes, ships, submarines and missiles catch the attention of people who walk by though it's in a corner.

Two officers from BrahMos Aerospace explain the qualities of the missile to inquisitive visitors who are mostly those from arms companies and defence force of different countries.

"This is the only supersonic missile on display. It's faster than the subsonic missiles from other countries that are on display. It superseded most popular subsonic missiles", said BrahMos Aerospace general manager market promotion and export Praveen Pathak. The product is being promoted under the 'Make In India' programme.

"We have taken part in air shows and expos abroad but this is the first time in the Middle East. We want to export the missile and is in talks with a few countries. Discussions are also happening on the sidelines of the airshow," he said.

According to him, the cruise missile is better in velocity, flight range, and seeker range by three times and nine times by kill energy when compared to popular subsonic missiles in the world.

He said, "We are promoting all versions - sea to sea, sea to land, land to sea, land to land and those capable of being launched from canisters and ships. The missile has been inducted into the Indian Navy and has capability for vertical launch from ships."

The capability of using the missile from a submarine is also on display. A small scale model of a submarine installed at the stall shows that around eight missiles can be launched vertically from undersea.

The air version of the missile will be inducted into the Indian Air Force on its SU-30 MKI fighter planes after trials are completed. The combination of BrahMos missile with a range of 300km and SU-30 MKI fighter planes is considered to be deadly as the plane can fly long range and deploy the missile 300km away from a target and return safely.

BrahMos is the only presence from India at the prestigious air show where more than 160 exhibitors from all over the world have displayed their products and technology for civil aviation and defence.

With the Middle East region in a flux due to tension between Saudi and Yemen and Iran, there was a lot of interest among visitors for weapon systems. Fighter jets, drones, surveillance technology and others are popular among visitors belonging to the military.

Big names in defence manufacturing like Boeing, Dassault, Raytheon, Rafale are present peddling their weapons, planes and technology in addition to a host of exhibitors from civil aviation sector.

Pakistan has a huge two-storey aeronautical stall where scale models of the country's JF-17 Thunder fighter plane is being showcased along with other planes already being supplied to countries in the Middle East.

The airshow that began on November 12 will conclude on November 16.

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